Google plans to introduce its revamped DoubleClick Ad Exchange today, which should act as a market place for exchanging advertising space. Venturing into display advertising has been part of Google’s expansion plan for some time now. Last year Google bought DoubleClick, a digital advertising agency, with the clear intention to up its game against such contenders as Yahoo. It comes as no surprise after the slowing down of text ad sales that Eric E. Schmidt and others are focusing their efforts on display. To read more about the DoubleClick Ad Exchange platform, check out the New York Times’ article Google Aims to Wrest Display Ads From Yahoo.

U.S. Government to File Against Google Books

The U.S. Government plans to join the hundreds of others who have filed complaints against Google Books on Friday. The Justice Department is expected to address its concerns regarding the possible impact Google Books could have on its competitors and the book publishing market. To read more about Google Books and the government’s filing, check out The Wall Street Journal’s article U.S. to File Concerns Over Google Book Pact.

Google to Publish

Just as we thought the drama surrounding Google Books couldn’t get any more vibrant, Google announced on Thursday their plans to team up with OnDemandBooks, which is the maker of the Espresso Book Machine. The petit printing press can print out books within a matter of minutes, clearly an enticing proposition for anyone browsing the numerous books in Google’s archive. In its beginning stages, Google and OnDemandBooks intend on having 13 espresso locations in the U.S. and 13 abroad. To read more about the deal, check out this week’s LATimes Blog: Shakespeare in Seconds.

Skype Founders Sue eBay

It has been only two weeks since eBay sold 65% of their stake in Skype to private investors, which is why this week’s announcement from Skype that they will sue eBay for copyright infringement comes as a slight surprise. The crux of the argument between eBay and Skype is a piece of peer-to-peer technology called “global index,” which is the framework of Skype’s software and what allows them to connect telephone calls over the internet rather than through phone lines. Making matters more complicated, “global index” was a licensed piece for software from a U.K. company called Joltid, which terminated their license with eBay in March. Joltid has also moved their original case against eBay from the U.K. to the states and added Skype into the suit. Such a tangled legal web could definitely jeopardize the sale of Skype. To read more about the case, check out the SF Gate’s article Skype Founders Sue eBay: What’s Going On?

Facebook Hits 300 Million

Facebook made two significant announcements this week: their cash flow is in the positive and their population just hit 300 million active users. To put it in context, the United States has a population of 307 million people and with Facebook’s aggressive expansion effort it won’t be long before they surpass that number. To read more about Facebook and TechCrunch50, check out CNet’s articleFacebook at TechCrunch50.

Google to Newspapers, “Why can’t we be friends?”

Google recently announced the launch of their new app Fast Flip, which recreates the experience of reading a newspaper or magazine on the internet. The hope is that readers will be more likely to use the format to read articles online rather than in print, offering traditional print publishers an opportunity to cross over into the internet age. Google has teamed up with 36 publishers, but more are soon to come. Not surpisingly, Google plans to serve up contextual ads around the articles, sharing the “bulk” of the revenue with the publishers. To read more check out Google Unveils Fast Flip for Newspapers and Magazines, a blog post from the LATimes.

One Response to “The Week We Searched For — September 18, 2009”

Great roundup Camille. I found it ironic that I first learned about Google Fast Flip by reading a printed copy of the LA Times. Yes, the LA Times still offers a home-delivery option of their newspaper. But my 70-year old neighbor and I are the only ones on my block that still receive it, so I’m not sure how long this will last.